Spring Training....Spiritual Training

It was cold and windy, for Arizona anyway, on Wednesday when I hiked Telegraph Pass. I was looking at how barren and harsh the desert was to view. I was also reminded of the beauty that is waiting to be revealed in this inhospitable place. Thanks to the great rains, we are going to have wonderful carpets of Spring flowers. On my way, I was surprised when I looked down, it is recommended to keep a steady eye on the trail, and low and behold there was this beautiful small yellow flower at the side of the trail. Yes, winter is here, but there before me was the promise of Spring. Just as there is the certainty of the flowers of Spring, we also in Arizona, have the certainty, at least for now, of Spring training. As Spring training begins, we ask the question, “can the ‘spiritual Spring training’, Lent, be far behind?”. As it was, so it will be again this year, and we hope forever and ever.

Over these many years, I have begun to see the two seasons dedicated to training. Baseball’s Spring training is all about getting back to the fundamentals, pitching, catching, hitting, running the bases. I see this year our Diamondbacks are working on an added dimension, attitude. A healthy team attitude, is built on the concept of unity and commitment. Without these two basics, a team has no future. (For us D-Back fans, let us hope there is a relief pitcher or two in the picture! We have had no "savior" of late.) The season of Lent is our spiritual Spring training. It happens every year. Each year, we too are asked to return to the fundamentals, prayer, fasting, and reaching out to those who are in need, the contemporary suffering Christ. He appears to us in the disguise of the poor, the needy, the sick, the homeless, THE IMMIGRANT, those who are in prison, persons we would choose to avoid, rather than reach out to them. Here is where we have to have an attitude adjustment, if we are going to make it on team Christ.

We are told there is no I, in team. Where egos run unchallenged there is chaos on that team. In Spring training it is the job of the manager, and the coaches, to lay out their way of how things are going to be during the coming season. The players on a healthy team, have either to, shape up or be shipped out. Those only interested in their stats, and their glory will have to be challenged to adjust their attitude. Our egos are sure hard to battle, for ourselves and others. Where the egos reign, rather than the vision of the manager, there will never be a healthy, and happy clubhouse. Managers and coaches on a baseball team have only so much time to work with a player, we who are on team Christ are worked on, our whole life long. The other blessing we have when belonging to His team, we will never be cut, or placed on waivers. We are not bound to this team by contract, we are part of a covenant. A contract ends, a covenant is everlasting, eternal. Just as egos get in the way of a successful baseball team, so too, our egos are constantly getting in the way of the good, orderly, direction, that comes from our Manager, through the coaching of the Holy Spirit. That is the reason for this season we call Lent.

Spring training takes place under ideal circumstances. We see the movement of teams, leaving old, tired, training centers, and taking up residence in those new state of the art facilities. In these facilities everything is laid on. It must be first class. Despite all those wonderful surroundings, during Spring training and afterword during the season players still get played out, they get burned out. Then they have to go through that horrible experience of being traded, or forced to retire. They have come to a dead end. Who looks forward to that? Well for us who are that different team, those dead ends, the great losses, the great disasters, in other the great deaths we are constantly faced with, are just the BEGINNING of a new way of living. All these experiences lead us to a gradual, deeper understanding of that wonder-full Preface prayer, 'Death is NOT an end death is a BEGINNING". That is where we are lead through the experience of temporal death, in an understanding of the mystery of Paschal death. Because it is a mystery, and one of our five supernatural mysteries at that, we must return to it again and again. Not very appetizing, is it? This will happen through our life experiences, when we are forced to confront this reality. On the other hand if we are very, very lucky it is this season of Lent in which makes us enter into, to delve deeper into a mystery we shall NEVER solve. "Life is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived", now where have you heard that before?
As you know, I love what Meister Eckhart has written, that is the stuff I can understand, The following is entitled, “Led to the Desert"

Consider the divine spirit in the human soul.
This spirit is not easily satisfied.
It storms the firmament
and scales the heavens
trying to reach the Spirit that drives the heavens.
Because of this energy
everything in the world grows green,
flourishes,
and bursts into leaf.
But the spirit is never satisfied.
It presses on
deeper and deeper into the vortex
further and further into the whirlpool,
the primary source
in which the spirit has its origin.
The spirit seeks to be
broken through by God.
God leads this spirit
into a desert
into the wilderness and solitude of the divinity
where God is pure unity
and where God gushes up within Himself.

A Difficult Challenge???????

This weekend's Liturgy opens innocently enough. We will / have prayed, “Almighty Father, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in truth. Open our eyes to your deeds, our ears to your call, so that our every act may increase our sharing in the life you have offered to us".

This "word" we have to have faith in has the following to say us, "You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.....Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your countryman. You shall love your neighbor as yourself". These words are from that first reading. We go on to the Gospel where these words are addressed to us by Jesus, "My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors".

This is real heavy stuff, and so difficult to do. We have to face what we would like to do, and contrast that to what we are commanded to do as followers of Christ. There will be, for me there usually is, between what my ego wants and what the true self desires for me. There is that instant satisfaction, gratification that comes with putting someone in “their rightful place". Unfortunately that does not last too long. Our conscience starts to act up, and we get to be in an uncomfortable place. We have to face this challenge over and over again. Being Irish, this is one of the curses of belonging to our wonder-full race. I am sure you have heard of Irish Alzheimers , "You forget everything, but the grudges". At least we are honest about it. Honesty is the first step towards a healthy spirituality.

Instead of carrying the grudges, Jesus commands us to pray for that certain individual. How can I do this, you may ask, and not choke on my words? Well since it is the command of Jesus, why not use the words He has given us to pray? Here is a practice that DOES work. It has been road tested by so many people. For two weeks, yes 14 days, say one “Our Father” for that person. When you start you can even say, “I really do not mean this, but I am saying it anyway”. See what happens. God's ways are not our ways. As we go along they become more and more mysterious. This makes the command of Jesus a little easier to obey.

This life we are asked to pray for, and is offered to you and I, is a participation in the life of our God's only begotten, beloved Son. A life that described for us in the Gospels. I always recommend the Gospel of Mark for this purpose. There we meet a very human Jesus, and a still more human apostles, and disciples. When we struggle, as we always will, with following The Lord, they await us in the Gospel of Mark a great source of encouragement. Up to the very last moments, up to that last moment before The Risen Christ was to ascend, they still did not get it. In that state, Jesus Christ left His "not together" apostles, and returned to the Father. He left The Holy Spirit a great of work to be done. With the descent of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, the challenge was met, and so it continues to the present day, to you and I. The ongoing formation of the baptized into the Body of Christ is a process we hinder, or facilitate with our God given freedom. What power the love of our God has bestowed, and blessed us with. The life that is offered is a life that Jesus Christ will live out His suffering, death, resurrection, ascension. It is the life God has chosen from a life of eternity to be the place where a New Spirit will descend to, and infuse Itself into. So, that the risen life of Christ may have a contemporary expression. This is the dignity we are called to. Great blessings always come at a great price, e.g. our freedom. Are we ready to accept this hidden challenge in this weekend's liturgy. Take heart we do not take on this challenge alone, we have this GUARANTEE from our God, “Whatever challenge you are asked to face, it is a challenge that both you, and I can meet, and accomplish”. You will never be tested beyond your strength. I will not allow that to happen. If you have any doubts about this, read what happened to Job, “So, when a challenge comes your way, it only comes at a time and in the place where you and I can meet it”.

So many of us have a great difficulty in letting the past go. We hold a grudge against ourselves and it is called resentment. This weekend's Psalm is wonderful. It is Psalm 103, and it has these so consoling words,"As far as the East is from the West, so far does He place our sins behind us". Hope this will encourage you to not read, but pray the whole psalm.

Where is the Scribe and Pharisee......Within?

It is time to take another look at the chart at the beginning of the blog. The heading reads, "The Battlefield of The Soul". When we read down, the words we read are, "My Free Will". This free will, we are always reminded, is a gift freely given to us by God. This free will will never be interfered with. At times we wish we did not have it. Then there would be no chance of us making mistakes, we could say to God "you do everything, I will be just along for the ride. I expect it is going to be a good one because it is all up to you". To do this is to surrender our free will. To surrender our free will under any circumstances is a sin. Our free will is that which makes us human. When we do not act as healthy human beings we revert back to acting like animals. Our God given ability of being able to think and act make us rational animals. God will not take our free will away. We are not puppets. So each and every moment, of each and every day, we have to make a choice. That choice is made either consciously, or subconsciously. We read in the Scriptures, before us is presented life and death, good and evil. Whatever we choose will be given to us. So in every moment we are going to life-givers or death-dealers. We are going to choose between a life lived as the beloved. When we choose that life to live, we live a life that is permeated with the light, life, and love of God. When we deny ourselves that gift, we are choosing to live a life lived in guilt, fear, and shame. One way of living is a life lived in the freedom our gracious God has chosen for us. To choose to live a life locked in the prison of guilt, fear, and shame is the life of a victim, not that of the beloved.

Thank God, our God is a just God. Again in the scriptures this God "understands man and woman's every deed". We often hear it be said of a judge in our courts, "He really takes into account all sides of an issue". Not all judges are like that. Some work out of a personal agenda. Then there is injustice. Our God understands us better than we understand ourselves. He loves us more than we ever can imagine, or hope for. He looks at us through the eyes of infinite mercy and compassion. Jesus had a real problem with those who were rigid, and inflexible. Jesus called this group the Scribes and Pharisees, a bunch of hypocrites. Jesus here was not being a " nice guy', He was being an honest person, much to the chagrin of the latter group. The Scribes and Pharisees we caught up in religiosity, while Jesus was revealing how hard and difficult it is for the self righteous to get to the Kingdom. The Kingdom is for the poor, broken, the sinner, a concept the Scribes and Pharisees were either unwilling or incapable of accepting. Now here is the nasty part, the Scribes and Pharisees are alive and well, and have taken up residence within you and I. When we are lured into the lie that we must earn, deserve, or qualify for our God's love we have joined the above group. When we compare ourselves to others so as we relish the feeling of being better than, guess who is in charge at that time?

Jesus did not come and assume a perfect humanity. His humanity IS the same humanity you and I share, no different. He continues to use that same imperfect humanity of today, to carry on His mission and His ministry. Our spiritual journey is that conscious effort, on our part, to acknowledge while we are beaten, bruised,and beaten, just like Him somehow our God has chosen this way to reveal His presence to and to the world. This is the "WISDOM Of GOD" that makes no sense to this world, as it made no sense to the Scribes and Pharisees. It is our calling to struggle the day to day living while all the while the mystery of grace is bringing about the Kingdom, using our mistakes and blunders as the main instruments of its creation. It is NOT for us to analyze how it happens, it is up to you and I, to allow the grace to flow. Please enjoy, and above all please celebrate the hike.

Fr. Adrian van Kaam, C.S.Sp. wrote;
"The Lord wants to incarnate Himself in the world through persons involved there as fully human beings."

"My daily environment should not be looked upon as the Divine but a possibility of entrance into the Divine. Every new enterprise, reading, or encounter may reveal to me another aspect of God's presence. I should never identify one task, place, or assignment with God Himself or dub this the only road to God. In that case, I might suffer from religious fetichism, which means that I isolate one specific person or place and tell myself that this is the only road to God for me. If I do so, I may be danger of closing myself off from the rest of reality and remaining fixated on one or more parts of my total situation. In such estrangement from reality, both my daily and spiritual life may become FICTION."

Religiosity.......Real Spirituality

There are, and were, great challenges afforded to us in this weekend's scriptures. It is the job of the scripture readings to deepen our understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That challenge comes from The Table of The Word. The strength to face the challenge, comes from The Table of The Eucharist. The two Tables compliment each another. We need to have both to lead a truly Christian life, and lead an authentic spiritual life. In the first reading from Isiah, we are exhorted, we are encouraged to do the following. The prophet, speaking the word of God, counsels us to: " Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own". Now if that is not enough, he goes on to speak the following, as the mouthpiece of God, "Remove from your midst, oppression, false accusation and malicious speech”. We may well say, "this is hard work”, and we are right. The spiritual journey, the spiritual hike, IS a hard and difficult task. That is why we can never journey alone. Alone we will be destroyed.

The spiritual journey is a difficult ego busting journey. We are led on a journey into who we really are, as authentic human beings. We are led to that place where we have to face, honestly, who we are in our limitedness, and our brokenness. Until we accept that place where we have nothing to rely on, or any resource to fall back on, we will be living in the world of fantasy. We will have our existence in the fantasy world of religiosity. To blast us out of that cozy place, we will have to face some shattering event that rocks us to the core of our being, the old trite answers do not work ant more. We now have new questions, for which new answers must be found. We get that place, which in the words of Karl Rahner, is a blind alley. This so called "blind alley" is not really what it appears to be, but is in reality a new deeper, and quite different understanding of God. A new understanding coming in a way that we least expect, or would plan on, given the choice.

I have found the following words of Fr. Adrian van Kaam, C.S.Sp to be both consoling, comforting, and challenging. These words are from his book, On Being Involved,
“Religion and life are not separated. My daily task and it's religious meaning, my worldly and religious commitments sustain one another. I can encounter God in the realities of daily life and face all events in. ("In Him we live and move and have our being")...Commitment to God which excludes a commitment to the world will lead to a FALSE RELIGIOSITY. In a make-believe religious commitment spirituality may degenerate into an egotistic search for sentiments and fantasies. A split spiritual of religious sentiment and imagination can be maintained only when I withdraw emotionally from my commitments. I tell myself foolishly that as soon I get involved in my study and in the people for whom I care, then I have to leave behind that sweet world of religious dreams and sentiments in which I want to indulge.

"If, with God's grace, I find the courage to give up this self-centered world of religious sentiment, I may be able to develop a true spiritual life. I may find God where He is: in the needy people around me, in the difficult hours of exhausting study, in the collaboration with humankind for the building of a better world. I find Him in the asceticism of the laboratory where I dedicate myself, together with my brother and sisters of the human race, to discovery of the concrete scientific aspects of the truth of His creation."

"Present to God, in struggling and suffering humanity, I may grow to a spiritual life which replaces that fantasy life that I previously called "spiritual". The main difference between my own imaginary life and that of other withdrawn people was that my fantasies were religious while theirs may have been aesthetic or sensuous. We rejected the challenge of God's reality and sought refuge in the shelter of pleasant feelings and imaginations." We will then find ourselves visiting "the land of tears and the land of fear." Again and again we will shed our tears. Physical tears, and emotional tears. We must then always keep before our mind’s eye the wonder-full words of this week’s opening prayer we prayed to our Gracious Father that in His mercy and love He allows no tear to go unheeded. There are no Kleenex moments with God. The is nothing not connected with the whole. There are no garbage can in The Kingdom. All of our tears are taken by God, when offered, and re-returned to us as pearls of wisdom. Not for ourselves, religiosity, but for the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner, the homeless, the immigrant, or whichever is the "least of the brethren" you will encounter in your daily living. St. Paul reminds us as well, " What we have been given is NOT for ourselves, but for the building up of the common good." This can only be, a WE JOB.

Blessed Are The Poor...Are You Kidding???

In a short while, the race for President of the United States will begin, again. Each candidate will have to reveal his or her platform. This will give us an idea what kind of a leader this person will be, or would like to be, for our country. We have the freedom to accept that candidate or reject her/him. It is the same with Jesus. In this week-end's Gospel, we have the platform on which Jesus was going to base his mission and his Ministry. We have the freedom to accept or reject this platform, this vision of The God-man. His revelation is The revelation of The Father as well. Everything Jesus speaks has been given to Him by the Father. He in turn, has been blessed with the self same message. This is a vision we must not keep to ourselves, but share with those who will be placed on our path.

Last week we were told to repent, to adopt a new way of seeing. This week in the Beatitudes we are provided with the lenses with which provide a new way, of not just looking but actually, seeing. We are asked to repent. We are to not just told to look, but actually to see what action must be taken so we can know we are on the right path and have the proper lenses to provide us with good, orderly direction. The first Beatitude provides you and I with an underlying message of hope and encouragement. In saying “How blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of heaven", we are being told when you get to that place in the looking and seeing, you get discouraged, and or disappointed with what you have to face about yourself, listen to this. In that place where your weakness, failure, and brokenness is revealed, you are in the best possible place. This place where we would never allow anybody else into is the place where the fullness of a God of mercy and compassion is revealed to you and I. For entrance into The Kingdom, is not and I repeat NOT based on world, or society values but on the spiritual value of powerlessness. Power, success, control will allow us to advance in the estimation of the world, but in the realm that really counts we are slowly regressing into our own made hell. We will end up in that place where there is no real love, no real peace, and no lasting joy.

We will eventually get to that place where the question will be asked, and listened to, "Is this all there is, there must be more to this in life?”. We must all pray for that question to surface in our lives, otherwise we will live not life but an empty, existence. That question hopefully will lead to a reflection on what has real meaning, and what has lasting value. We will have to take the necessary step of getting to that place where we will face our limitedness, our humanness, and be lead forth to a place of real freedom and real happiness. A freedom that cannot be taken away, only surrendered. We make that surrender when we deny the true Gospel value of, “poverty of spirit”, and be seduced again by the attraction of power, property and prestige. The battle is life-long. It is an everyday, and an every moment battle. It is a battle we do not enter alone, we grow in the knowledge that the tougher the going, the harder the slog, the closer our God is to us. So, it is in that weakest moment, when we feel most lost and most abandoned, the closer our God is to us and in the holding of us. What a blessing then weakness is. How blessed we are, that our God knows that in that place we spend so much of our life's journey He has chosen to make His dwelling place. I am not suggesting we rush to that place of weakness, failure and poverty, but when we arrive in that horrendous place, we will find it to be a place of transformation, and transfiguration. A place of blessing, not a place of cursedness.

The following is a quotation from The Little Flower. I introduced her last weekend as St. Theresa of Lisieux. She has written the following;

"I understand why Peter fell...He was relying on himself...I'm sure that if St. Peter had said humble to Jesus; ‘Give me the grace I beg you to follow you to death’, he would have received it immediately...And Jesus could have said to St. Peter, ‘Ask me for the strength to accomplish what you want’. But no, he didn't because he wanted to show him his weakness and because, before ruling the church that is filled with sinners, he had to experience for himself what man is able to do without God's help. Before Peter fell, Jesus had said to him, “And once you're converted, strengthen your brethren’. [This means; Convince them of the weakness of human strength through your own experience.]"

So as it was, so it is, and so it shall ever be, until the end of time. We all have a story of hope, and healing. The story is not for ourselves, it has been given, to be shared. In the telling we will again and again be brought to that opening plank of the platform we are called and chosen to implement, "How blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs IS the kingdom of heaven".

God's Aisling....For Us

God has, not had, a dream, an Aisilng, for you and I. His dream is that we would have life and have it abundantly. We would be able to share in His joy, and so bring our joy to completion. We would be offered a life to be lived out in freedom, not fear. Happiness was going to be a reality for us. Obviously we are not there yet. We are part and parcel though of it's becoming. We are the instruments through which this grand plan, which is also called, The Coming of The Kingdom, becomes a reality. There is a struggle within each one of us to allow this reality to happen, just as there is a struggle within society, and the church. We as it were, to use the scriptures, are all groaning as we await the reality. The tragedy of Tucson points out how far we have to go. Yet the prayer in last week's blog points to the power of God, who watches with care. He does not just watch, He watches with care. This not just care, this is infinite care. We all have been aware of the care the victims of the shooting received, and are receiving. Each caregiver has only a limited amount of physical. and psychic energy. There comes a time when everybody has to rest and sleep. The caring presence is not there. With one who is Watchful Care, he does not rest, he does not sleep. His is eternal, vigilance. How reassuring it is to know that He who created us out of His Infinite love, continues to love us with the same infinite love. A love we do not have to earn, deserve, or qualify for. No wonder we do not believe it. How can anything that is free be any good. Are not told to be careful of anything that looks too good?

That is why this week’s prayer is so great. We will pray, or have prayed,

"Almighty Father, the love you offer ALWAYS exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life, so that the limits of our faults and weaknesses may not obscure the vision of your glory or keep us from the peace you have promised."

Last week it was the power of God that was presented to us, this week we are informed this is not just power , it is the power of love, infinite love. Why do we need such great love? Simply put, we are too darn good at pointing our faults and weaknesses, and constantly harping on them. We keep on picking at them, and harping at them that we move from a healthy guilt to toxic shame. Guilt is, I have made a mistake and need to change, or to use this weekend's Gospel we need conversion. Guilt is about what I do. Toxic shame is about who I am. Guilt is I made a mistake, and so can change. Toxic shame is I am a mistake, and it take a great deal of hard work to release the shame and embrace the unconditional love always and ever being offered to us.

It seems God does His best work with the good sinner. St. Theresa of Lisieux tells us, "God has two weaknesses that make Him lovable. He is blind...and He doesn't know arithmetic. For when the greatest sinner on earth repents at the moment of death and dies in an act of love, God does not count either the numerous graces that the sinner has abused or his crimes but counts ONLY his last prayer and receives him without delay into His merciful arms. She again has written the following, "God's justice..seems to me to be clothed in love. What a sweet joy it is to think God is just ,i.e., that He takes into account our weakness, that He is perfectly aware of our fragile nature. What should I fear then?" The following is the one I like the best, I wonder why? "Sometimes it happens that despite our best efforts, God allows some souls to remain imperfect because it would be to their spiritual detriment to believe they are virtuous". What great hope there is in those quotations. They with the opening prayer, and being complimented with last week's prayer, will be a source of strength for us who are weary, discouraged, and losing sight of the promises given to us at Baptism.

We need to recall to mind that wonder-full smile of Christina-Taylor Green. In that smile, she is telling us- I have not forgotten, yet, where it is have come from. I still hold bright the light that has been entrusted to me. I am here to remind you of who you really are, and who we are all called to be. You like me are to be the contemporary Christ. We are to reach out to those who have become dispirited, alienated, and discouraged. We all must be a beacon of hope so that all can say our God does watch over us all, is caring for us all. Just as His Son has to enter the shame and darkness of Calvary, so as to enter His new life, we too will follow in His footsteps. Footsteps, that will of necessity, lead to the place where there is no death, only the fullness of life.

Reflection....On a Life

"Isle of hope, isle of tears,
Isle of freedom, isle of fear,
But it's not the isle I have left behind."

These words are taken from a haunting Irish-immigrant song. These words are used to describe the land of promise, America. For this immigrant, these words also describe the America I have come to experience and know. It was shortly after my arrival in 1963 when President Kennedy was killed. Those were dark says of uncertainty. They were the precursor of other days, of fear and struggle. Which one of us will ever be able to leave behind us that bleak, and disastrous day of September 11th, 2001? Yet, into that darkness came a little light, and a glimmer of hope. Christina - Taylor Green was born on that fateful day when the world as we knew, ceased to exist, so a new world had to be encountered and lived in. Christina's birth was God's way of saying despite what may happen, I am still involved in my creation. I have not lost confidence in humankind, see…I am sending a new source of My Presence. I am sending this new creation to be a reminder that there will always be goodness entering into creation. My creation will continue. On that day when 3,000 died, a new life began. A life so full of energy, enthusiasm, hope and dreams that has now, too, come to a sudden end. This ending has begun a new way of living for Christina, and for you and I. Christina has returned to the infinite love she was sent forth from nine years ago. We have to live dealing with her absence, and the questions surrounding her death. Death, because it is a sacrament, will trigger questions about was is true and what is real. Death will always make us question the reality of our own existence, and the values that shape our life. Christina was able to point to the fact that on the day of tragedy, when so many died, her life began. What a life she shared with her family, friends, school, parish, and community. She had already set her eyes on a life of service, and leadership. We, as a church, a state, a nation, have been drawn into her life, and are left with a sense of awe, and wonder. Did not St. Irenaeus say many centuries ago: " The glory of God is the human person fully alive"?

We have been gifted with God's presence in and through the life of Christina. That is the reality hidden and revealed in each and every life. Christina made God look really GOOD. We will have to rely on that same God of goodness to become our living Savior at this time. There was a great opening prayer in this week end's liturgy, we prayed as follows: "Almighty and ever present Father, your watchful care reaches from end to end and orders all things in such power that even the tensions and tragedy of sin cannot frustrate your loving plans." We need to make that prayer our daily prayer. We must ask for a real deepening of our faith in what that prayer says. It is a prayer of confidence in the fact that God's power is, and I repeat is greater, than all the forces of hatred, prejudice, bigotry, and cynicism. The same Spirit that was the source of Christina's vitality is the same Spirit that was imparted to you and I the day we were Baptized. Christina was the model of what could happen. We have the opportunity to continue the good she has begun. As we do so, we will continue the mission and ministry of Jesus who became the Christ. Then death is not an end, it is the beginning of a new and different way of living.

We Are The Reason...For The Season...Not Jesus.

We all know what it is to look and not see, to hear but not listen. When it comes to what the past season has to say, and point us to we must take the plugs of fear and complacency from our ears, and remove the blinders from our eyes. We must become keener listeners, and ever deeper seekers. Why? Because, otherwise the fact that God became a human being will be just another birth. Another ordinary birth with no special meaning, just another ho hum event, in the history of our world. We who believe come to know and understand there is mystery in The Birth. We come to accept the reality of the seeming harsh words of Meister Eckhert "What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in our hearts". With each and every Advent/ Christmas/ Epiphany celebration, we allow the meaning to seep deeper and deeper into our hearts, souls, and minds. If not? Why Jesus just wasted His time and efforts. We do not obey our Father when he says to us "This is my beloved Son, LISTEN to Him". Do we look and listen, or are we afraid to see the real truth, hear the real message, and be converted on and on going to a deeper level? With conversion comes a new and more dangerous way of living. We enter the living of a life that offers no security, no certainty, only a life that is lived and journeyed on, in dark faith. We will make the words of Thomas Merton our own, "God I have no idea where I am going, I do not see the road ahead of me. I do not know for certain where it will end, nor do I really know myself". All we can hang on to is by our Baptism we are mysteriously called, blessed, and uniquely gifted for journey. We are in the words of the Gospel, "The beloved" in whom our God is well pleased. It does say was, or will be, the word is, IS well pleased. Here and now our God takes great delight in our reality. A reality as God sees it not the way we, see it. The more we claim our belovedness, and live our lives accordingly, we will have life and have it to the fullest. We will slowly come to know there is never anything missing from a life that is lived in the mystery, and the sacredness of the present moment. We have that awe-full freedom to live in the freedom of the beloved, or live out our lives in fear, guilt, and shame. WE live our lives as victims of "the toxic trinity" rather than to live our lives in the wholeness, the holiness of The Holy Trinity. This a decision you and I make every second, every moment we live.

Jesus to my way of thinking is not the reason for this past season…..we are. If we say Jesus is the reason, and not us, we will never be free to hear, see, and listen to what The Infant has to say. His birth says to you and I, I reveal myself to you in the place you least expect to find me, and in ways beyond your imagination. The Vulnerable Child says to us, I am to be found in the powerless, the place of powerlessness. It is to those who are nothing in the eyes of the world, it is those who I have set, my eyes and heart on. It is much easier to keep that Child as as infant rather that allow Him to grow up, and become the crucified One. The one that is broken, bruised, and beaten out of love for us. From the cross He speaks to us, you want power? Accept a powerlessness like mine. You want property, I offer you a share of all that is mine, emptiness, abandonment, desolation is all I have to share with you. When you come to know and accept what appears to be a void you will discover a treasure beyond your wildest dreams.

Jesus says to us, it for you I came. I came to reveal what is really real, and what has lasting value. The world hated me, even wanted to kill me as a child, so it wants to kill the innocence within you. My life was spent in the outreach to those who were the outcasts, and I joined them as an outcast. Can you do this for me? Now we really want the Infant to be the reason for the season, this message is so hard, and too difficult to respond to. Lately, I have been wondering what would happen if on Christmas when we entered the church we saw not the Crucified Christ, but Infant Jesus on the cross? Are we ready for such a radical statement? Yet is not that what we do each time we persecute ourselves, and then of necessity one another? This killing will stop when we listen truly to what The infant wants to say to us. we will then become life givers, and not death dealers. We will be able to continue to be, not only the voice, but the very presence in action of Him, who has called from eternity, to be who we really are.

In Wonder Gaze....

I just love when, as I eat breakfast and read the paper, I get the start for the week's blog. This happened again this week, thank you God. The thought for the day was the following: “If a child is to keep alive his/her inborn sense of wonder, he/she needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him/her the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in" (Rachel Carson, Biologist).

We are in that time when resolutions are made. We tend to make resolutions that will enhance our physical well being; lose weight, go to the gym, take a walk, etc. etc. We will also take steps to be better organized, to be physically responsible, and the list can go on and on. How many of us will take to heart what Rachel said? Not only to take it to heart, but take concrete steps to actually do something about it. We all have that child within, who is in constant need of a source of encouragement so as to be able to continue it's journey into wonder. The child within each one of us is in the constant need of an encouraging presence, force, to enable it to achieve the intended goal for which it was created. Our prayer life, our spiritual health, demands a sense of wonder. If there is going to be the continued presence of art and science in our world, we must be aware wonder is the source of both. When was the last time, we made the cultivation of wonder, our New Year's resolution, if ever? We must make the conscious effort to be guided to see beyond the ordinary and the obvious to discover. There lies a great excitement in the discovery of the seeds of mystery in all that is . Whatever the reality, hidden waiting to be discovered, is mystery.

With those set of lenses, what a new year lies open before us. There will be no moment, and I repeat no moment, that will not have within it the on-going revelation of the mystery of God. We will have to have that person in our lives who posses that which enables us to speak the truth of our excitement. This is very much like the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth. So then, who is going to be the Elizabeth for your Mary? Who will be the one that you can trust to have the maturity to recognize the Sacred dwelling within you, and the life you have been given to live? Who will be the one you can take the words of the opening prayer of the Feast of The Holy Family to and explore all the depths of meaning contained in the following words; Teach us the sanctity of human love, show us the value the value of family life". What power-full words those words are.

We cannot be taught unless we allow the questions to surface. Others have asked the questions and have lead us to the greatest of gifts, the understanding of sacramentality of sexuality. As far back as the 13th Century, St. Thomas Aquinas saw the connection between the celebration of sexuality and prayer. We need to discover, anew, the sanctity, the grace filled action that is human love, and in its expression. Read again and again the Song Of Songs in the Old Testament, and be shocked, as so many have been shocked, at the imagery and the passion. We are told God's love for us is Eros. In the reading of The Song Of Songs keep in mind you are the one The Lover is seeking and searching for. Our final union with God in this life can only be expressed in the awe-full, wonder-full, out of this worlds experience of ecstatic love. That is the imagery which comes from St. Theresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross. Within the mystery of human love is perfectly hidden and revealed, The mystery of God, and His love for us. The ecstatic love experienced in human love is ultimately what on experiences in the soul with God. The joy of that union cannot be described only alluded to.

Let us all ask for a new set of lenses as we gaze upon family life. Within that which is so ordinary, so mundane, God choose to both hide and reveal His son, His revelation of who He is. For those who looked at the family of Mary, Joseph and their son Jesus what did they see? People who walked around with halos on their head? Did they not have to work in order to eat? There were no angels being sent with special food, for The son of God. Whatever food Mary was able to purchase at the local market, with what Joseph, and later Jesus, was able to earn is what The Infinite Son of God ate.

How ordinary, yet how extraordinary both human love and family life is. Both are sacraments, in the broad sense, in which the sacred, The Mystery, is both hidden and revealed. So when we are lost in boredom, it means we have lost the lenses God has provide us with. We are choosing to see through the lens of what is tangible, rather than that which is mystery. We are lead to grasp at that which is apparently real, only to find out it is an illusion. It will leave, it will change, it will not last. It is that which we receive from that which we cannot see, yet experience at our depths that stays with us and lasts forever.

Merry Christmas!

It is that time when my heartfelt wish for you is that the Christmas/Epiphany Season will be one filled with the choicest of God's graces. Blessings that will lead to an ever deepening understanding of who you are and who you have chosen to be, in the universal plan of God. May the conviction that you are the continuation of the Mystery of the Incarnation, lead you to a life filled with the Advent gifts of Peace, Joy and Love.

Retirement continues and I am learning to enjoy it more and more. It is tough work, but that kind of "tough work" I am very willing to take on. I had another long trip this summer. The highlight was the 28 days I was privileged to spend at Dolly's cabin. Just before vacation began, I had to be part of a very sad and difficult goodbye to Dolly. It was a whole different feeling being at the cabin this year. I have now been able to spend an astounding 75 days in yellowstone over the last three years. These days are awe-full and wonder-full. I have about 1,000 photos to process from my trip. The vast majority are from Yellowstone.

I was hiking on the Howard Easton trail all by my lonesome. The thought came to me this really could be bear territory. With that, from a very close proximity there was the rustle of branches. When I looked in the direction of the noise, I saw a black bear taking off at great speed. I was later told a black bear can hit between 35-40 miles an hour. I am so glad he took off in the opposite direction from whwere I was intending to go. I now have a deeper respect for that animal. It was so exhilarating to be able to witness such speed. T?he next morning I was lucky to see a huge grizzly. He was about a quarter of a mile away. I have him/her in my camera. I have had the priviliege of seeing 10 bears in the wild. Five blacks and five grizzlies. I also had a very challenging episode at 8,000 feet, ;lus with driving rain, hailstones, heavy wind, thunder and lightening. I was able to get two blogs out of that encounter with Mother Nature. You can read about that in the blog. Some of you have read of that adventure, so I will not bore you.

Then it was brought home to me, Joe you are getting old. I began to be in real pain from my arthritis. Also, a spot on my face began to hurt as well. That spot has caused a lot of trouble over these many years. The end result was I had a shorter vacation. I was glad to get back to the warmth of Arizona. Since I ahve returned the arthritic pain has gotten go much better. I recently had surgery on the troublesome spot. It was cancerous, so it was a good move to return early. It took 21 stitches to close the wound. I am looking more and more like a Raiders fan. (They are looking pretty good this year.) Life is continuing and I am still helping out wherever there is a need.

I came across the following on the internet. I have used it on weekends, and I am thinking it would be a great gift for you, as individuals, as couples, as families, as you conintue your journey to your God, and with your God. It is called "the Advent Virus
, and has been penned by that well known author, Anonymous. My prayer for you is that you will be infected and affected by this virus and the effects last with you long after the AdventChristmas/Epiphany season has passed into memory. The following are some of the signs and symptoms of this wonder-full virus to be infected with and infected by.

An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging others.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of interest in conflict.
A loss of ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of gratitude.
Contented feelings, connectedness with others and nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
An increasing tendency to let things happen, rather than make them happen.
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fear based on past experience.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others
as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

There is that wish expressed in song, would that every day be Christmas Day. Well let us all join in a great conspiracy to nourish the above virus. It will be then that the non-believers will be led to the belief. Yes, God did come and true to His promise, He is still with us. yes, He is as He said, Immanuel.

The Blessings of The Christ Child be on your and yours,
Fr. Joe (aka Papa J.)

Mary and Elizabeth.....Part 2

This week we all woke up to some serious fog. One would think we lived by the ocean, where morning fog is the norm. When one drives in coastal fog one goes in and out of fog banks. When you are in the fog you feel like you will never see sunlight again. Then you enter the sunlight and are under the false impression on will never be in the fog again!!! Wrong. The coastal drive is all about entering the fog, leaving the fog, and entering the fog again, again, and again. That is exactly the way our faith journey is. It is that way for all. It takes honesty to admit it. We admire strong people of faith who were able to meet the challenge of being faithful. That is all that we can have, is the desire to be faithful. What follows is the way we are called to live out our personal faith journey. Each journey is unique, one of a kind. We can never, and I repeat never compare our faith journey with anybody else's. To want another's journey is, the denial of one’s own uniqueness. Yes!! It is hard work to cooperate with God's grace and so come to one’s own unique understanding of the relationship between one self and the power outside of ourselves on which we know we are dependent. That is the essence and the foundation of ALL religion. In Mary and Elizabeth we have two real giants in the realm of faith.

Last week we left off with the arrival of Mary at the home of Elizabeth. Mary must have had to shout a greeting, as she was not expected, "Shalom, Elizabeth are you at home? It is me Mary". Then we have the reaction of Elizabeth. She explodes with joy and happiness. Both she and her unborn son are graced. First, John in the womb, and through him Elizabeth. She, through the power of the Spirit is able to recognize Mary, for who she is, the mother of the coming Savior. The lives of their sons will be interlocked. What John will go through, so will Jesus. Elizabeth's spirit filled greeting loosed within Mary the reality of her truth. Elizabeth was the instrument through which God's grace was channeled to Mary, resulting in her ability to vocalize her reality. From that grace filled encounter we have the awe-full prayer of Mary, also called The Magnificat. It is the prayer of the humble servant, who recognizes her greatness as the result of, the present mercy of her God. She reiterates God's past Goodness to His chosen people and what was the result of His faithfulness. She sings a song warning of God's justice. A theme her Son was to echo when He described what His Ministry was to be about, "I have come to preach good news to the poor ..to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed." So much of Mary's faith had of necessity be passed on the Jesus. The apple does not fall too far from the tree.

This Season of Advent reveals within us anew Mary and Elizabeth. Who have you identified as your Elizabeth? The one that recognizes you as the present day carrier of the Christ? Who have you been Elizabeth to? Who have you encouraged to be faithful to the call of making the Incarnation a deeper reality in a very hostile world? Where is the suffering in your life, where Christ is hidden in the pain so as to reveal to you a new creation. A reality never planned of expected, but now a reality. We are brought to an ever newer understanding of those words, "With God all things are possible...". Where do you see and reverence the Mary within you, be you man or woman? Women have such a head start in the understanding of this birthing process. We men, have to suffer deeper and longer, before we come to the point of realizing and accepting both Mary and Elizabeth within.
What is your personal Magnificat? What is your song of joy, not happiness, springing from the realization of the constant Presence of a merciful God whose presence has not been recognized but in this Advent has broken through the fog? What are the WOW moments that forces a song of joy and thanksgiving, just like Mary? Are you going stop have an individual song, a couples song, or the song of a family? What a wonder-full Christmas tradition this would be? Now what a great treasure would be in the making, if all the "Magnificat" spoken were written down and passed on from generation to generation. What a store house of Good News would be part and parcel of your family. How are you going to pass on the story of today's Mary and Elizabeth as it is experienced in your life, and in the lives of your loved ones? As Mary and Elizabeth were graced and blessed, so you are graced and blessed by the same Source. There was not one grace for Mary, Elizabeth, John, and Jesus, and a lesser one for you and I! We are somehow all one and that makes us all one, in His love.

Two Strong Women....(part one)

Mary, is very much an Advent person. Within these last few days we have had the celebration of The Immaculate Conception, and the feast of Our lady of Guadalupe. As we reflect on the scriptures, Mary was not alone in her "patient expectation" as she awaited the birth of her Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus, who was to become The Christ of God. She had the companionship of another strong woman, her cousin Elizabeth. When we are confused, and stressed, we always need to have the wisdom of the ages available to us. So it was, with Mary. She had Elizabeth, and the latter recognizes the person who blessed her with her presence. With the presence of Mary came another Presence.

Mary and Elizabeth, so different and yet so many wonder-full similarities. Both strong women, and individuals of deep, deep faith. One, Mary, the teenager, the other, Elizabeth, a woman of many years. She is many years beyond her child bearing years. Yet, miracles of miracles, she finds herself pregnant. What were those many years like when she had to suffer the agony and the shame of being childless? In the culture of her time she lived out her life in disgrace, because God did not grace her with the vocation of motherhood. She had the desire, and nothing, until now. Mary, who was she? A young woman betrothed to, but not as yet living with, her intended. She was preparing to be married, but was not preparing, to be a mother. That would would come, with God's blessing, at some future time, but not right now. For Mary, the future became a reality, right now. Her pregnancy was not the result of her and Joseph’s plans. Her pregnancy was the result of the plans, of the Ultimate Planner, God. Yet, The Planner, The Almighty God, had to wait for Mary's "YES". What conflict Mary must have been in. Here she was still a virgin and is being asked to say, yes, to a child. What was Joseph going to think? How was this going to work out with family and friends? What if Joseph's family wanted their money back? The questions must have been many for that conflicted teen. She was invited to say yes to something that made no sense to her. Yet from the depths of who she really was, the chosen one, the gifted one, the graced one from all of eternity, she was able to muster what is now know as the ,"FIAT of Mary";

“I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to His will.” ~ Mary said not my will but your will be done!

So the long and difficult journey began. A journey that would take her to Bethlehem, on to Egypt, and on to Nazareth. Mary was promised that her Child would have the throne of David, what were her thoughts as she stood by the throne, of the cross? Her son was not crowned with a crown of gold, his crown was a crown of thorns? I like to ask this question, "Was Mary the most deceived woman in the scriptures?” Dispirited, disillusioned/ Not Mary. We see how strong in faith she was as she was in that room, with the other followers of her son, when The Spirit Of that same Son descended, "and the world was turned upside right". She was present when a new birthing of her Son took place. The physical body she gave birth to was now to have a Mystical presence.

So we have two strong women, chosen and blessed. One seeks out the other, and they meet. What an explosion resulted from that encounter. An encounter happens when those involved in the event look beyond the obvious, and come to see, and own the deeper reality. From that spiritual explosion was released blessings that have filtered down to you and I, these many centuries later. Gifts that must not be taken for granted. When taken for granted, leaves us empty, disheartened, and disillusioned with life. Gifts when reflected on, under the guidance of The Holy Spirit in prayer, adds vim, vigor, and vitality, to our lives. Our liturgical celebrations then take on a new meaning, leading to the deeper living of a life of peace, joy, and love. We then have Advent time, all the time.

Next week we will take a look, and a listen to the words and actions of Mary and Elizabeth. In the mean time take some time to reflect on these questions;

* Mary is present within me, each and every day.*
~ Where do I encounter her?
~ Who is Elizabeth for me right now?
~ Who do I choose to be Elizabeth to?

Reflect on the following, as individuals, as couples and as families.
“I, (we) will sing a new song. As difficult as it is, I must learn the new song that is capable of meeting the new need. I must fashion new words born of all the new growth in my life. My mind, and my spirit. I must prepare for new melodies that have never been mine before, that all that is within me may lift my voice unto God. How wiIl love, the old familiarity of the wearied melody, shrink from the harsh discords of new untried harmonies. Teach me, my Father, that I might learn the abandonment and enthusiasm of Jesus, the fresh new accent, the untried melody, to meet the need of the untried tomorrow.” ( Howard Thurman, "Meditations of the Heart" )

Where will you allow that to take you to? Mary, and Elizabeth gave voice, what words do they speak to and through you, right now?

A virus to desire......or avoid?

As I enjoyed my cereal this morning, I read the following in the daily paper; “The well of Providence is deep. It's the buckets we bring to it that are small.” So wrote a Scottish religious leader, at the turn of the last century. I would like to suggest, it is not about just the size of the bucket, it also depends on the condition of the bucket. If I want the bucket of my soul to be filled up, I must make sure there is no garbage taking up the space, we are inviting our Gracious God to fill up. Our spiritual garbage has been described in the following manner;
G...Guilt,
A...anger,
R..resentment,
B..boredom,
A..anxiety,
G..greed, and
E...envy.
Being spiritual beings on a human journey, we are very much aware of the garbage we encounter in the daily living of our lives. We must not allow that garbage to detract from the wonder, and the mystery of who we are and the dignity that is ours, as the result of our God's plan for us. We must continue to allow God to fine tune the lens of our faith so we become more and more enlightened. We must actively invite our God to awaken in us the real depth His love for us, and to the life He has called us to live. Advent is a time we are given to re-orientate ourselves so we will become more available. Advent is an opportunity to stop, yes!! STOP, and reevaluate what is the real in depth meaning of this precious time, and season. One person has written, "Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it are born our art, science, and religion."

We pray then, for a greater sense of wonder so we can ,again and again, be lost in the awe-full mystery of our God, a God who left His lofty Heavenly Home, and throne, to come and make His dwelling place, our dwelling place. Yes, our God left His power and majesty behind. He deliberately emptied Him. He came in emptiness, so the bucket of His soul could be filled up with the powerlessness of our humanity. He who has all power, came to us in the vulnerability of a little newborn baby. We wonder and wonder and never exhaust the mystery. Each and every Christmas we are led into the wonder-fullness of the Bethlehem event that took place so many years ago, yet happens again and again, ever new, in the Bethlehem of our souls.

So the can this season of Advent be seen as a time of emptying out, rather than of gathering up? How do we empty ourselves, so as to be ready to receive the fullness of Him who came to model in His life, what we are in the hope to imitate in ours. His life, is our life today, so that where we are, He is. His Incarnation continues on in the life you and I live, today. What an awe-full dignity and responsibility has been bestowed on you and I. We are not in this alone. Anything our God asks of us, that which is necessary to accomplish the task, is already within us. We, in fits and spurts, do some of the things necessary for others to believe that the Incarnation has happened. During this time and season, we are more actively being who we have been called to be. This results in what has been described as “The Advent Virus”. Here are the signs that will indicate to you whether you too have been infected by this virus, or may have encountered this wonder-full 'contamination'. That is in the eyes of those who will not see.

Some signs and symptoms of....

The Advent Virus

A loss of interest in judging other people.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fear based on past experiences
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others. A loss of interest in conflict.
A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation. Frequent attacks of smiling.
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

This virus is the exact recipe we need to empty our buckets, as we draw near to our God, so as to receive His blessings. For those who may want to go further, how about that great prayer of St Francis. "Lord make me an instrument of your peace........”.
That well know author, Anonymous, has penned the following, “It is easy to think Christmas, and easy to believe Christmas, but it is hard to act Christmas”.

A New lens......for.. a never before... Advent

We are once again invited to enter into and celebrate The Season of Advent. With this season, the new Liturgical year begins. Like the Celtic calendar, the liturgical calendar begins in the world of winter and darkness. The upon is not that where ALL life begins. We all emerge from the darkness of our mother's womb. Jesus, who became the Christ, shared the same journey as each one of us, and was born in the darkness of the night. He arose from the dead in the darkness before the dawn. Somehow, God has chosen that connection between darkness, birth and life and presented to us for our ongoing reflection. We can be sure that wherever there is darkness, then it contains the promise of new life, and new beginnings. This wisdom will not come to us in a day, a week, a year, we will be led to that by those who have gone before and left the promise, as their legacy. A legacy for you and I to claim, enjoy, and celebrate. A legacy whose value will not show up on our bank accounts. It is a legacy that enables us to live life and live it to the fullest. We are empowered to live our lives in love, and freedom. Is not this the deepest wish of all human beings?

So, we are again invited to enter this mysterious Season of Advent. We are gifted, again, with the invitation to enter into this time of longing, preparation, expectation, and, anticipation. We are asked to take the ordinary events of our lives, and see in them the means which afforded to God so He can prepare us in our own unique way for The Revelation. This Revelation, is our God taking on the human condition, so as to reveal to us in a very personal way, He is a God that is not a distant God. On the contrary, He is a God that is with us, He is Emmanuel. As He is revealed to us, so our God depends on you and I to reveal Him to those He will place on our paths. In that way, the Incarnation will be everlasting. It will be, as it is, eternal. This is all, mystery. A mystery that can never be solved, only entered into again and again. With each new encounter we are gentle led into an ever deepening knowledge and understanding of that which will never be understood, in this life. This life affords us the opportunity to enter, ever anew, the Mystery of God becoming fully human. He entered our humanity to the point of suffering and death, so we would have a God that knows from His own human experience, what it means to be powerless, vulnerable, and alone. Beginning with the announcement of His birth, through the events of His birth and life we are drawn always closer to Him who came for the purpose that we would have life and have it abundantly.

Abundant life for Jesus, is not about the bottom line. His abundant life does not show up on our bank statements. Abundant life is not about having the right house in the right neighborhood with the kids attending the right school with the right kind of kids. Abundant life if not even about giving you or your family the right stuff. Stuff will never be enough. The life that is offered to us for our reflection during this Season of Advent is wonder-full and beautifully captured in the following poem by Jessica Power entitled:

ADVENT
I live my Advent in the womb of Mary. And on one night when a great star swings free
From its high mooring and walks down the sky to be the dot above the Christus i,
I shall be born of her blessed grace
I wait in Mary-darkness, faith's walled place,
With hope's expectance of nativity.

I knew for long she carried and fed me, guarded and loved me, though I could not see.
But only now, with inward jubilee,
I come upon earth's most amazing knowledge;
Someone is hidden in this dark within me.

This Advent let us pray for, and be prepared to receive new lenses. Let us let go of all that has come to in Advents past. T his Advent is new, never before experienced. Let us prepare for the appearance of our God, not in the places and people we expect to find Him. He will come to us in the people he came for, the poor, the outcast, the prostitute, the leper, the blind, the lame, the wanderer. All those people we will meet, when we realize they are all within you and I. We are in reality a great community, wounded, and broken waiting in patient longing for Him who will transform the so called darkness in the birthing place of our God. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Jesus came to turn the world upside right”. So, let us journey in dark faith, not knowing what is before us, but having the conviction God is faithful to his promises, "you are my friends" and "I am with you".

A very happy New Year to all of you. May all your celebration lead you ever deeper, until you meet that Someone who is hidden in the dark within you. A wonder-full, awe-full season of anticipation, and patient longing is my wish for you.

Happy New Year?

Happy New Year - this is Sunday is the beginning of the new Liturgical Calendar!

A Family Tradition....

We are coming to the end of the cronos year - 2010 will end in about seven weeks. The Liturgical Year, on the other hand is ending in just two more weeks. The changing of the leaves and the cooling temperatures signal that we are at the beginning of the end of the year. The liturgical readings provides us with the annual readings which confront us with the challenge of facing our own life's end, and the end of our world, as we know it. This is the time for the fear-mongers. Emphasizing death, destruction, leading to untold, unnecessary worry and spiritual turmoil.

How many of these fear-mongers will take the time to emphasize those last few words of this week’s Gospel; "Yet not a hair of your head will be harmed." There will that upset all around, yet our God is the God of life, not the God of death and destruction and He is our Good Shepherd. The darkest valley is not dark for Him. As a matter of fact, it is those terrible and dangerous times, when we have given up does our Faithful Prodigal Father reveal Himself as He truly is, all powerful, merciful, and gracious. For us who have to journey to the place where we ourselves thought, this is the end, it is all over, light and love breaks through. With this newer and deeper understanding of what is real life and real love, we will have the necessary strength to persevere. It is in and through that God given of perseverance, we, as Jesus in the Gospel, will save our lives.

So, then we see, the future holds no fear for those who have seen their worlds crumble. Their plans not realized. The towers they spent so much time and energy to build, they to their horror saw them fall, and crumble. All there was left was rubble. Was that the end? Of course not! It never is, for those who believe in the spiritual journey. That ending is THE BEGINNING of a newer, and better life. A life not caught up with the demands of this world, but with eyes directed towards the demands of that life which will never end. Over these many years I have seen individuals and families in a matter of seconds have one world end a new way of existence forced upon them.

While I was vacation, I was able to see the History Channel's documentary on the horrors of 9/11. It was a documentary that compiled the actual video recordings of individuals as they journeyed through that seminal day in the history of our country. It began with a wonderful sunny New York morning, with people beginning to go about their morning chores, in preparation for just another day. All that changed when those planes flew into the Twin Towers. What followed was at times very, very difficult to view. I do not go to horror movies, but what was that TV set was beyond any horror movie. This was real. To see the thousands of people running in panic before on-coming clouds of dust, that they were unable to escape was really unnerving. I was looking at real people, running scared, running for their lives. Then you were presented with the picture of firemen either going into the twin towers, or preparing to go in. You saw the faces of those who would never be seen again. There was a look of steady resolve on their faces as they moved towards their destiny. No looking back, just straight forward. They were formed and trained for that day. They did not shirk their duty. They will always be remembered. How could they ever be forgotten? Their physical lives ended on that day, but their efforts and heroism will last forever. The lives of their loved ones have been forever changed. The sun did rise on the September 12th, and the process of living continued on a new and different level. Death, and evil can never win.

That is the message of this week’s Gospel. We will be prepared, strengthened, and trained for whatever may come our way. We will not be overwhelmed. Jesus Christ by His death and resurrection has provided us with that guarantee. When we are caught up in fear, and which one of us has not, we are forgetting we have been provided with the gift of faith for such occasions. This is the truth that comes to us from the words, actions, and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. John's gospel chapters 14-17, are a great antidote to the fears generated from just living life. We need always to remember we have been created by Love for a life to be lived in freedom, not cowering in a corner out of fear.

We have a Good Shepherd, who states pretty bluntly that what has been given to Him will not be snatched out of His hand. With our desire to be in lasting relationship with Him we will we guided safely the many, many, many dark valleys of our lives. We will not always know where we are being led. We do know by faith, there will never be a place where The Good Shepherd does not only have us in His sight, He has us wrapped up in His loving presence. Where ever He is, we are, wherever we are, he is. After all, it is all about the here and now. In this NOW moment, we are ever and always safe. Do we not ask Our Lady to pray for "now, and at the hour of our death"?

We have Jesus Christ as our brother. We have His Mother as our Mother. This tells us we are very well connected, both put the devil in his place. Let us do the same, 'It is a family tradition". A tradition we will always be empowered to continue.

Every Mass...Trick or Treat?

This past week, as you well know, was "trick or treat" night. Well, I experienced a little of a trick that evening myself! As I left my home in Sun Lakes, I was all prepared to reflect on what I had written here. I was going to deal with the fact that our God not only talks the walk, but He came to walk the talk. In doing so, we have a model to follow. A model that challenges us to walk the same path he has laid out for us. We will then be a people that will really walk the path our God-Father, has intended for our wholeness and happiness. Such was my intention, when the thought flashed through my mind, this is "trick or treat" night. Then the question, "will those who come to Mass lose out on anything? The answer came, of course not! Then the thought process began to expand. Here are some of the thoughts, which are also pretty much what I shared at Mass.

On Halloween, those who go from door to door, always begins with an empty bag or bucket. There is then room for the goodies to be received, into the emptiness. The greater the emptiness the more room there is for gifts, to be received. The gifts that are received will come from the generosity of the giver and cannot be earned or demanded. What happens at each mass we attend? We bring our emptiness to each celebration. Life empties us out. Living life reveals to us our powerlessness, our lack of control, our essential loneliness, all those things that force us into the admission we are after all just a regular human being. We are not the exception to the rule. We begin each celebration with the admission, we are sinners. That is we have said no to God's love, and went in search of an apparent good, only to be very disappointed, eventually. We come to recognize, where we have said no, and the place of the ensuing pain, needs to be handed over to the infinite, prodigal, mercy of our Gracious God. This then is the place of emptiness. This is our empty that will be filled up with what we need, not what we want.

I have been so culturally deprived. I never went trick or treating. So you have to forgive me if I make some mistakes. I have been on the giving end, not on the receiving end. As you look on the faces of the little ones, especially the real little ones, there is a great sense of expectation. When you produce some goodies that meets that expectation there is the familiar, "oh wow". Skittles, M&Ms, Kit Kats will trigger such a response. There will be a rush to tell their friends the good news of what is awaiting them. Then you have to face this new group who has these great expectations. Now let’s switch things up a little.

How about this scenario? What if, instead of the expected treats, a plate of celery, carrots, raisins, and other vegetables was produced.
Would not there be a response like, first of all dead silence, followed with "What gives?”, “Who are you , my parent?”. They would not be very happy campers. They would not be consoled with the trite statement, "vegetables are good for you". They expected candy and will not settle for anything less. Veggies do not provide what Skittles can provide. (Personally a dark chocolate Kit Kat will do the trick.) We want what tastes good, not necessarily what is good. We want that good rush which comes with instant satisfaction. We do not want to wait for the process which allows serenity, and peace of mind to flow into us, or should I not say, to bubble up from WITHIN us. We want religiosity, not spirituality.

How often do we approach the Liturgy of The Mass with the expectation of coming away feeling good. If that does not happen, then there is something wrong. We attended the celebration with the expectation we will hear that which will confirm some pet idea , which bolsters our sense of our own perceived goodness. That did not happen. Instead we were confronted with a message that confronted our preconceived ideas, and smug self righteousness. In other words we wanted candy and got veggies. Here is the question, “Will we be as enthusiastic about spreading the good news of veggies received, as we are in letting everybody know of the "candy" that is waiting for them?”. Our God always gifts us what is good for us, not what we think, or feel is good for us. Lastly, what steps are you going to take to make sure the bucket of the soul is empty, so as to be filled with that which really nourishes us, not just gives us a cheap high. How blessed are you when you are responsible and responsive, and share that gift with your fellow travelers.

Those who attended that Halloween mass were given THE TREAT. The Treat which is essential for healthy spiritual living. The Treat, that comes to us as bread and wine is in fact that which we all seeks as we go about seeking out, and accepting what life has to offer us. That Real God, is behind all of our seeking and searching. We will find ourselves knocking on many doors, only to be disappointed with what is offered. Eventually we will be lead to the peace and quiet that is always within our own souls. On that journey, we will not survive on candy, nor on just pious religious feelings. We will find our strength from that which comes from the same source as we do, namely the earth. It is from the earth, the humus, the human, comes our real nourishment for the journey into reality. That journey we name, the spiritual journey. Let us rest in The Real, and not be seduced by the candy of fantasy, of unreality. Let us not be so tricked that we lose out on “THE TREAT”.

God Walks......His Talk!

There is a daily prayer each day in the paper. One day, this was the prayer:
" Lord, each day let us look for and find good news to give to others we meet, so we may help spread your love and light to those around us. Amen"
It was later in the day when I began to read the scriptures for this weekend's Liturgy. The following is from the first reading from The Book of Wisdom. "You have mercy on all, because You can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it ; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, for your imperishable Spirit is in all things!
You rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord."

Now that is real good news. It is such good news, that it can really stop us in our tracks. God love all that He has made. Yes, there is nothing that God has made that his love does not maintain in existence. If it exists, it is loved, all the time. God's love is permanent, and does not waiver. Whereas the love we experience and express is all over the place. It runs hot and cold. Lukewarm, however, is the killer. Jesus has a warning for the lukewarm. Our God hates nothing that he has made. Now that is an eye opener for those individuals who use God as a weapon to bring impart their own guilt, and shame on to those they have difficulty with. How often God is used as a weapon for evil, when all there exists in God is infinite understanding, mercy and compassion. How we see others treat others reveals to us a great deal about themselves. They are not seeing the person as that person is, they are seeing that person as they see themselves. Nobody, but nobody, can see us as we really, even we ourselves cannot do that, only God see us as we are. Our God always, and I mean always, sees us through the lens of His love. What a terrible act of abuse it is to use the All Loving God as a weapon to further our narrow agenda, or agendas. So, when I have difficulty with someone, it is not actually with that individual, it is sadly about me, and I do not want to deal with me. Eventually, we will have to come home to who we really are, and find out all humankind dwells within each one of us.

In keeping with what Jung says, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves". All that irritates me allows me to fall into that love we are told about in that Wisdom reading.

We all have heard about those who talk the walk, and those who talk the walk. It could be said that in the first reading God, in the scriptures, is talking the walk. In the Gospel Jesus has come to walk the talk, and in doing so is calling on us, His followers, to do the same thing. Our God hates no one, but maintains us all in His love.

Jesus came and became the incarnation of that love. Was it well received? His message of acceptance was so radical it got Him killed.
His outreach was so extraordinary, His own family wanted to intervene. In today's gospel, Jesus scandalizes the self-righteous with His
acceptance, of the invitation, to eat a meal with a sinner. The word sinner was a the same as, prostitute. The tax collector, the sinners, the prostitutes, were among the groups, the ones he reached out to. Jesus pointed out that the tax collectors and prostitutes heard and accepted His word. On the other hand those who stood in judgment of ALL THREE, did not.

Our God is always, as a matter of face every second, maintains us in His love, and reaches out to us in His love. The more we find the tax collector and sinner deep within ourselves, the deeper we will fall into the love revealed to us by, LOVE INCARNATE, Jesus Christ. We will then be able to go beyond the snap judgments, and reach out in understanding and compassion. In this human encounter the mission and the ministry of Love and Incarnate will continue. Let us take the risk of expressing the desire to be able to not just talk the walk, but walk the talk. You will become what you desire. What a ride, what a journey that will be. The opening prayer has these encouraging, and hope-full words;

" May the changing moods of the human heart and the limits which our failings impose on hope never blind us to you, source of every good".

It is only through the lens of the tax collector and sinner we will eventually arrive at that place where we will find ourselves dining with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Does God have a sense of humor or what? In the last place we expect to find Him, there He is, looking up at us and His eyes and asking the question, "What took you so long?"........Pride?????

A Prayer....and a Meaning...

Fall weather is with us, at last! We have endured the heat. We are now ready for the good days to refresh us, and renew us. That seems to be the pattern of the life we live out on this earth. There is struggle, some rest, and then we go back to the struggle again. I see the same thing in the hike up a mountain. There is the struggle, then you have a switch back, more struggle, and then there is another switch back. Aren’t those switch backs great? To my way of thinking, our weekend mass is a wonder-full spiritual switch back. Each liturgy provides a resting place, a place of renewal, a place of refreshment. We, as it were really take Jesus up on His invitation to come and rest in Him. We also come to rest with Him. We come to find REST, for the journey. He does not promise a FIX. He promises us rest. I love that prayer we sing, "I am here, standing right beside you". What comfort, encouragement, and strength, there is in those words. That is why we are in the constant need to be reminded of God's faithfulness to us.
We are in the constant need of being reminded that it is NOT our love for God, but his love for us. It is all God’s doing. It is He who has sought us out. We search for God. Why? Because he has found us. Not only found us, but has drawn us into a covenant love. This covenant love is all one sided, it is on God's part. This is His dream, His Ashling, not ours. We are told that His thoughts are way beyond His thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. Let us say a collective, "thank you God for that". We are caught up in a world of checks and balances, that is the world of contracts. God is not there. A real love relationship is not, contractual. His covenant has to do with no conditions, no restrictions and no reservations. His love in the love of, The Beloved. A love that we cannot, even if we want to, earn, deserve, or qualify for. WE have to be reminded of the fact that covenant love is, of its essence, a gift.
So the opening prayer , of this weekend's switchback experience,draws us, again, deeper in the mystery of God's love and who we are, as we exist in We will pray at mass to Him in whom we live, and move and have our being.

"There is no power for good which does not come from your covenant,
and no promise to hope in that your love has not offered.
Strengthen our faith to accept your covenant,
and give us the love to carry out your command."

We have to, or at least I have to, pray that again and again. Each time a little slower to allow the full meaning and impact to penetrate into that place where it will nourish, strengthen, revive and heal me. I ask for the faith that will overcome the fears of my insufficiency, limitedness, faults and failings.
I must be ready to accept no good comes from me. Any love in my life is that which comes to me, first, from God's love. I am simply the channel through which it flows. I am responsible to for the upkeep of the channel. When there is garbage in the channel I have to pray for the wisdom, and strength, to face that reality. It will be grace, and only grace, that will empower me to do what is necessary to unclog that space. I have the guarantee, from my Baptism, that I will never, and I mean never, be alone. I will never have to rely just on my so called strength, I have the pledge that My God will ever be there to strengthen, guide, and direct me. That is what it means to be anointed, which we all are in that sacrament.

We are then open to be strengthened to be who we are called to be. E.E. Cummings wrote; "It takes great courage to grow up and become who we really are." That which is necessary will be provided. We will have to face our fears, but we hear,
"Be not afraid I go before you", and "Fear is the only true enemy, born of ignorance and the parent of anger and hate". We then have a choice to make. Every moment we are given on this spaceship, we call earth, we make the choice of living in the freedom of being the beloved. We will of necessity be life givers, to all we meet. We will not be death dealers. Death dealers, are those who refuse to recognize and accept their essential dignity. Their essential goodness. This is what it means to be wounded. We all have to accept there is that wounded part of each one us. That must be told of the Good News. We must claim we are the beloved again and again until it brings God’s healing to that wounded part, and so join in the great celebration of life. We will also fulfill the command of God, and love as He loves.

Question..?...& ? some more!

Since I have returned from my trip, I was going to say vacation, there has been a lot of blog material that has appeared before me at the breakfast table. As I eat my regular food combination, which I have described in a previous blog, I search the paper for what you and I share, having a common humanity. Well the first thing I do is check out the chuckle for the day. After that there is, The Thought for The Day. Then the sports page. After that I may have the courage to read about the daily happenings in the city, county, country, and world I am given to live in right now. Some of the chuckles do not come across as really being funny, but displays an ignorance on the part of the would-be funny person. I have heard, read and listened to many people who use misinformation, and also disinformation, to make a so called funny. Our Catholic faith is on the receiving end of so much hidden anger, resentment, and downright falsehoods. Take for instance the exert I have taken from the daily paper. This is supposed to get you all happy and free to enjoy the day; "Religious faith is belief without relying on logic or material evidence. So is political opinion."

We as Catholic Christians have a theology to rely on. Theology, I learned over 50 years ago was first and foremost a science. A science is, an organized body of truths. There is Natural Theology, based on reason alone. Then there is a theology that takes the findings of natural religion, adds to it Revelation, and so we arrive at Supernatural Theology. That is why we have the great freedom to be able to question, question, and then question some more. St Augustine had two questions he asked all throughout his life, "Who are you God, and who am I? "As G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "Catholicism is a thinking person's religion. "Pretty neat. “So the next time you hear someone wanting to be funny at the expense of our church, you may well ask the question, " Have you really studied the theology of the Catholic church?" What the church teaches and what is popular understanding are as different as chalk and cheese. Again this is where GOOD spiritual comes in, it affords the opportunity to ground ourselves in the real truth and not be lead astray by following what, "THEY SAY".

They, I have found out, do not have a clue about the real basics of the Catholic faith. They do however keep the church in the business of being the source of real truth. Do not get me wrong, I have been questioned about what a person heard from a so called Catholic expert, and my answer has been, " you got to be kidding me?” I guess that is why we have to ask for the gift of prudence. We, at the same time, must acknowledge the weakness of the human side of the church. We have to take our lumps when some aspects of the failings are made fun of. We do not have to take it personal. Like in any family, there are members we would like to disown, but they are still family. It will be through their weaknesses that the transforming power
of God will flow into our unions, and communities. There was a wonder-full opening prayer in the liturgy last week. I am going to take the liberty of changing a few words and see how it speaks to you. The original prayer:
"Father in heaven, the hand of your loving kindness, powerfully yet gentle, guides all the moments of our day. Go before in our pilgrimage of life, anticipate our needs and prevent our falling. Send your Spirit to unite in faith, that sharing in you service, we may rejoice in your presence."
Now let us pray it this way:
“My Father in heaven, the hand of your loving kindness powerfully yet gentle guides all the moments of my day. Go before me, which He has, in my pilgrimage of life, anticipate my needs, and prevent my falling. Send you Spirit to unite me with all those lead by that same Spirit . That united in spirit we serve you more faithfully, and so we will all have the opportunity to rejoice in your many presences."

We go to mass to offer individual worship, and communal worship. That it our reality because of our Baptism. It is not either/or it is both/and.
When we are strong, as an individual we thank God for that. That is easy, right? Now when things are all messed up for us as individuals and community, the same God is working ever so power-fully, and so awe- fully gentle, to bring peace and unity to the chaos we as humans have created. Here is another Thought for the Day:

“The opposite of a fact is a falsehood, but the opposite one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." Niels Bohr.

Let us embrace these two truths;

" The powerless of power, and the power of powerlessness" , which allows us to fall into the "LOVING KINDNESS " of our God, which
is His dream, His Aisling."

Rejoice" then because of your essence you are loved. You have been loved from all of eternity, and will be loved FOR ALL OF ETERNITY. Continue to live and celebrate THE DREAM.

More Goodness....to Challenge Us.

Spiritual reading is so essential for a healthy spirituality. To be healthy, we must be taken ever deeper. This journey that takes us deep is the work of the HOLY Spirit within us, and so can be trusted, even if not liked. None of us are comfortable with facing the honest truth that is part and parcel of this journey. There is consolation in that adage, we are as sick as our secrets. The more we grow in honesty, and honesty is progressive, the more free we are to enjoy that which our God has dreamed for us…. There is a newness about our life. Our life is not boring.

Spiritual reading does this for us. Yes!! It is a blessing and a curse. It is a sacrament in the broad understanding of that word. It is sacrament (with a small “s”) in that sense is: Each and every person place event, action, that brings in touch with the deeper realities of life and ultimately with Reality Itself, that reality we call God. Last week in the quotation from Fr. Rolheiser we were taken to a new and deeper understanding of who we are as today’s living presence of the historical Jesus, we as the contemporary Christ are in the constant need of being reminded who we really are. WE must have that constant reinforcement of our innate dignity. Why? Because, the Devil, the father of all lies, wants us to believe in the lie. The lie is that we are not who we are really called to be, we have to earn, deserve, and qualify for the unconditioned love of God. That love comes to in so many ways and through so many channels. Here is some of what Fr. Rolheiser has written, speaking of The Incarnation;

"When Jesus walked around Palestine, people were healed and forgiven, not to mention given eternal life, by touching him ,and being touched by Him and simply by relating to him. If we the ongoing incarnation, and we are, then this is true also for us (and not just in the sense of it happening through the institutional churches, important as that is)......The mystery of the incarnation is extensive. It is not just the institutional churches that carry on, carry forth, and carry the mystery the mystery of God in human flesh. ALL LOVE THAT IS IN GRACE IS THE WORD MADE FLESH. To touch it is to be touched by Christ; to touch with it is to touch with Christ because it is the ongoing incarnation. From Augustine through Pius XII, we are told that this is wild doctrine, something beyond our limited imaginations, and measured hopes. Nobody dares hope for us as much as God has already given in the incarnation.

What are we given there? The power, literally, to block death and hell. If we love someone, that person cannot go to hell because Christ is loving him or her. If we forgive someone, that person is forgiven because Christ is forgiving him or her. If children of ours, or anyone else we love, no longer go to church, our love for them and their love for us bind them solidly to the Body of Christ. They continue to touch the hem of Christ's garment as surely as did the woman in the gospel who suffered with a hemorrhage. The end result, unless they reject their bond to us, will be like hers, namely, healing.... it is Christ who is doing this. We, as St Paul so clearly assures us, “are the body of Christ”. He recognizes how difficult it is for us ordinary people to believe, accept, and act upon. So he concludes the chapter with these words:

" Part of the difficulty in believing in the incarnation is precisely the fact that it is too good to be true: God is not hidden and hard to contact; forgiveness, grace, and salvation are not the prerogative of the lucky and the few; we don't have to save ourselves; we do not have to live our lives perfectly to be saved;...human flesh and this world are not obstacles, but part of the vehicle to heaven; we can help each other on the journey; love, indeed human love, is stronger than death; and to love someone is indeed to say; "you at least will never die.!"

This spiritual reading does take one deeper, and so it is indeed, sacramental. This will lead us to pray for the simple faith, to believe in the very simple words of scripture;

"You are my Beloved daughter/son, in you, I am, well pleased", another translation goes like this "You are my beloved child; in you I take delight!" How often do we take time out to join our Father God in His delight of who we are, and in where we are? We cannot think our way into a new way of enjoying being ,God's delight, we must take the action to join God in his delight, of us. We have been given the gift of imagination. Let us dream of new ways to celebrate this great gift of God's great delight in us, each one in his/hers own unique way. Again, to quote Thomas Merton, “Be, who you already, are”. The question would be then, who are you?

Let the dreaming continue….

Too Good...To Believe?

We as Catholics did not look too good in the news today. Throughout the news media there were discussions on the startling statistic that Catholics knew the least about religion. Is it not amazing that so called atheists knew the most about religion when questioned. Yes, atheists were the best informed. An amazing 45% of us did not know of the Real Presence. That in the bred and wine we receive at mass Jesus Christ is really truly present. In the reality of the Eucharist the historical Jesus, is present as the Risen Christ. We, because of our Baptism are the living presence of the same Jesus Christ. The historical Jesus is now living, walking, talking, loving , crying, within the reality of us living out our daily life. Whenever you or I touch someone, that is the touch of Christ. When you are reaching out in compassion, and understanding, the compassionate, understanding ministry of Christ continues to have life. What wonder- full faith our God has in each one of us that we are called, gifted, and consecrated to carry on the ministry of Christ, our brother. I guess you can say we are called to be in the Family business. Isn’t that one way of looking at this mystery?

I would like to suggest the fact we do not know, and so do not believe, all the ramifications of our Baptism, all that is presented to us is so hard to believe. How can our limited lives contain and reflect the mystery of the many presences of God? How can we, as oh so limited human beings, carry on the Mission and the Ministry of the Godman, Jesus Christ? We must ask for the gift of deepening faith to let go of our narrow, comfortable, understanding so we can be led in the vastness of the mystery we are called to be. May I suggest it is because we do not allow ourselves to be led ever deeper into Mystery, we lose out on the great mysteries which are the foundation of who we are as Catholic Christians. When we receive the Eucharist how many will say, and believe here is the living reality of Jesus Christ not only meeting, but encountering the reality of the same Jesus who walked this earth 2,000 years ago? In the Eucharist, Christ meets Christ. In all that we are, He finds His life, in us HE has his existence and his being. Just as in the same Christ we live and move and have our being. We as it were, complement one another. Where we are, Christ IS. Where we are, the church, as The Body of Christ, is.

Last week I mentioned how important spiritual reading is. I find this reading to be encouraging, challenging, and threatening to my preconceived ideas and false conceptions. There was a great expression in the 70s, when we came across something which really made us stand up and pay attention-what “Blew our minds". "You blow my mind” was such a common expression. Well that is what spiritual reading does for me, and has been doing for many many years now. The following is from Fr. Rolheiser’s book “Against an Infinite Horizon". WARNING this is not for the narrow minded, or the closed minded. I hope it will "Blow Your Mind"!
He writes:

"Gabriel Marcel once said; "To love is to say, you at least will never die”. That might sound like romantic wishful thinking, but in Christian faith we believe that this is deep insight, an article of faith, a truth of the Incarnation. If we take the Incarnation seriously, then to love someone is to say to that person "You will never die because, in this life and the next, you will never be separated from the community of life, God's family, because in accepting my love you are touching the Body of Christ just as really as did anyone who touched the historical Jesus. You will never die and you will never go to hell because you are bound to Christ. ... The truth is rather that, as the body of Christ on earth, we can continue to do all the things that Jesus did and, as Jesus himself says in the John's Gospel (4:12), we can even do greater things. Scripture tells us that we are the body of Christ on earth. It does not say that we are like the His body, or that we replace His body, or even that we are His mystical body (which would not be so wrong, if we understood "mystical" in the deep sense of the word). Our Christian faith informs us that we are the body of Christ--flesh, blood, tangible, visible, physical, available to be touched, and all of this definitely and clearly residing in nameable persons on this earth. We are the ongoing incarnation of God, the anointed ones of God, Christ."

Pretty good stuff, no…..on second thought, that is GREAT stuff. The stuff our faith needs if we are to live the dream our God has dreamt for you and I. So continue to enter the dream of God, as revealed to us in the life and the person, of the historical Jesus, who became The Christ of God. Live what you know and so be led into the unknown.